The Path of the Samsara
by Shin'en no Tenshi
Summary: "Should the circle of life ever be broken, the world will answer by bringing forth its protector." Naruto is born with the Rinnegan. But with such power comes and even greater responsibility. Before even being able to walk, Naruto is trusted with an unimaginable destiny. Will he be able to accomplish it? Or will he crumble and deviate from his predestined path.


**The Path of the Samsara**

**Summary:** "Should the circle of life ever be broken, the world will answer by bringing forth its protector." Naruto is born with the Rinnegan. But with such power comes and even greater responsibility. Before even being able to walk, Naruto is trusted with an unimaginable destiny. Will he be able to accomplish it? Or will he crumble and deviate from his predestined path.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto. The only thing I own is this particular plot.

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**Prologue**

Not unlike any other work of nature, it all had started as something small. This time, it was as a mere drizzle, something that continuously ailed the Land of Rain – especially given the current season. It was nothing more than a mere nuisance. After all, what could be so special about it to make it different from the countless others it had been forced to endure throughout the year?

What sign could have possibly led its inhabitants to believe that such a small drizzle would be the start of something so incredible? For the inhabitants of the Village Hidden in the Rain, nothing about it was wrong. And most certainly, it was nothing to be feared.

Traders continued to trade, struggling to acquire precious goods that would pique the curiosity of gullible and potential buyers. Farmers continued to farm, continuously working themselves to the ground to provide the city with enough food to last through the flooding season. The last days of warm weather were rapidly coming to an end, which only served to make the task harder. Children continued to play and laugh, enjoying the innocence and the naivety that only a child such as them could possess.

And shinobi continued to fight, struggling against adversity to the point where some of them sacrificed their own lives in order to achieve one single goal. One single purpose. That is, to protect their loved ones, and to keep them from harm's way. Life continued in Ame no Kuni even after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. Uninterrupted, and mostly unchanged.

This small drizzle though, soon began to expand. It expanded until it eventually came to cover not only the Land of Rain in its entirety, but also the entire width of the Elemental Countries. Even the harsh and dry deserts of the Land of Wind were eventually covered by it. For its inhabitants, the rain wasn't to be considered something bad. Rather, it was a small blessing they had been deprived of for a long, long time.

The entire Elemental Countries being covered by rain was something extremely rare. An event that recorded history showed, took place only once or twice every millennia. But aside from that, there weren't many details about it. What significance could such an event have? Surely nothing foreboding. No matter what happened, the circle of life surely would remain untouched and unbroken. It would remain exactly as it had ever since the time of the Sage of the Six Paths. Wouldn't it?

It was impossible for them to know. Mankind had long since forgotten the importance of holding a good relationship with nature, and just why such thing had proved essential for the success of their ancestors. Unlike them, they were unable to notice the small changes the drizzle had started to bring on its wake. The animals and plants that inhabited the land, however, weren't nearly as ignorant as humans when it came to change. Especially when it came in such an ominous and violent way. The normally loud and lively cattle suddenly became silent and unmoving. Yet, it remained healthy. The vibrant colors of the exotic plants and flowers that grew throughout the land were suddenly replaced with dull and dead colors. Yet, they remained blooming.

Eventually, each of the Five Kages – the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Nations and, allegedly, some of the wisest of humans alive – finally started to notice the changes.

But it was already too late.

If only they had noticed sooner. If only they had been ready.

It hadn't been even a month since the end of the Third Great Shinobi War when the harmless drizzle grew and suddenly became a raging maelstrom unlike any other. It simply destroyed anything and everything that dared stand on its path. Neither the mightiest of trees nor the sturdiest of buildings were able to withstand its wrath and eventually, were forced to collapse before its might. The rain just kept pounding down upon the world with its ungodly rage. Unrelenting, and unstoppable.

Fifteen days.

It had taken nature fifteen days to bring mankind down to their knees. Fifteen days to remind them of the natural order of things. Men existed to serve nature, not the other way round.

Never, the other way round.

The raging maelstrom eventually drifted back into rain, and the rain then drifted back to a drizzle – not unlike the one that had started it all – before it eventually stopped. Nature's work was done. The blood mankind had spilled, the forests they had lit on fire, and the corpses they had left unclaimed on the battlefield, had all been washed away. Every single remnant of the war was cleansed and purified.

The Elemental Countries had remained standing, but they hadn't been left unscathed. Nature, in its own way, had given mankind a rare chance to start anew. A chance to redeem themselves, to forget about their petty conflicts and understand each other through the pain the destruction had left on its wake.

It was truly a shame though, that its message wouldn't be accepted by all of them. A shame, that not everybody was willing to kneel down before its incomprehensible power. Even after witnessing such destruction, Uchiha Madara remained unwilling to accept the natural order of things. It was clear the man would stop at nothing if it meant achieving his goals.

Contrary to what most would think, nature was sympathetic to mankind's new plight. It would never abandon the world to its fate just because of the arrogance of one single mortal. As it had been ever since times immemorial, an unspoken and absolute rule still existed:

'Should the circle of life ever be threatened to break, or change, nature will always find a way to adapt in order to eliminate such threat.'

Should the world be threatened by a madman unlike any other, then it was only natural for it to be protected by a hero unlike any other.

Unknowingly to both Uzumaki Kushina – the current Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko – and Namikaze Minato – the Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves – they had long since been chosen as the means to bring forth said hero.

Even as the frantic soon-to-be mother, and equally anxious soon-to-be father, hurried through the wet and humid forests of the Land of Fire, down a secret path that would lead them to a location where only a few of their most skilled and trusted ninja would ensure she gave birth to her child safely, nature was already protecting him.

No harm would ever come to him, not while he was still so young and defenseless. Not even when everything went terribly wrong, and Madara unleashed the Kyuubi once again upon the world. As the creature tried to kill the new-born, the love of both parents drove them to use their own bodies as a shield in order to keep him safe. The beast was then reduced to nothingness, and sealed once again into a human prison, the child. Nature then played its part, and kept the child safe from its evil and corruption.

No matter the cost, nature would make sure he remained safe until it was time for him to fight.

As everything came to pass, the child eventually opened his eyelids. Inside, a pair of metallic purple-rippled eyes were revealed. The only sign of the destiny nature had lain before his feet. Merely because of them, the child would be forced to walk down a path of trials and hardships. A path of self-sacrifice and illumination.

He was destined to walk down the Path of the Samsara.

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Yes, this is yet _another_ edited version of the story I posted a _few_ months ago. Once again I wasn't entirely satisfied with the previous draft, so here is a greatly improved version. This time I expect few errors to have survived through my editing.

This is an idea I have been toying with for quite a while now. As you can gather from this chapter, Naruto will possess the Rinnegan. No, he will not be godly powerful right off the bat. This is a serious story – or at least I'll try to make it so – where you can expect every character to realistically develop their abilities as the story progresses.

This is a pretty short prologue. I just wanted to introduce some of the most fundamental changes that will make this story diverge from canon. Naruto will be more in contact with nature and subsequently, will be a lot calmer and aware of his own insignificance. You'll see the story eventually take off to an entirely different direction from canon.

I'll honestly try to update this as often as I can. But as always, real life and my original writing will sometimes force whatever updating schedule I have in mind off the tracks.

Rest assured I'll endeavor to complete this project to the best of my ability.

Published: 01/27/2013

Edited: 01/27/2013


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